Here are the Questions and Answers from the July 7^th FREE Blogging Webinar hosted by Mariana Wagner and Jack Miller of MAPS @ Keller Williams

1.       What will the MAPS Fast Track Blog Coaching Cover?
This course will cover the basics of blogging, how to increase the SEO of your blog, how to write an effective blog post, how to promote your blog and many other tips and tricks on how to have a successful blog without spending too much time on it.

2.       How much is coaching?
The Keller Williams MAPS Fast Track Blog Coaching is a 6 month course with two 1-hour sessions a month and additional free-form call-in sessions for $99 a month.

3.       What is the Fast Track Blog Coaching Schedule?
The following Thursdays at 2pm CST, 1pm MST, Noon PST or 3pm EST:

·         July 24

·         Aug 14

·         Aug 21

·         Sept 4

·         Sept 25

·         Oct 2

·         Oct 16

·         Oct 30

·         Nov 6

·         Nov 20

·         Dec 4

·         Dec 18

4.       How does information on my blog differ from information on my website?
There are 2 parts to this answer:

·         Search Engines: Websites are predominately static and can bel ignored by search engines, whereas blogs get search engine recognition much quicker and easier.

·         Functionality: It is much easier to publish information to a blog than it is to a website. From there, you can set your blog up to reflect the information that you have on your blog.

5.       How do search engines know the difference between websites and blogs?
Blogs and websites are set up differently from the back end and search engines understand that difference. Additionally, blogs are generally updated more frequently than websites, which get the attention of search engines faster and more consistently.

6.       How long does it take the search engines to start ranking a blog for certain keywords?
This depends on which keywords you are trying to rank for. The more competition for these keywords, the longer it may take. On the other hand, niche keywords may take less time to rank. There are ways to make your blog rank faster, even for popular keywords. We will go over exactly HOW to do that in the Fast Track Coaching Sessions.

7.       How many leads should I expect from my search engine placement?
Once you begin ranking high for certain keywords, the amount of leads that you will get will be determined by HOW you capture and cultivate those visitors. Blogging is predominately just a tool to help you get visitors/traffic. What you DO with that traffic is up to you.

8.       Should I link my blog to my website?
Definitely. You should have a link from your website to your blog and from your blog to your website. You can also syndicate your blog posts to your website, which we will explain in the Fast Track Coaching Sessions.

9.       Is it better to have a blog instead of a website?
No. For most real estate agents, a blog is designed to support your website. Eventually both your blog and your website will "rank" in the search engines.

10.   What are ideas of things to write about?
The Fast Track Blog Coaching sessions will include an intensive list of content ideas. However, the main things that you can write about are:

·         Market reports

·         Neighborhood profiles

·         Buyer and Seller FAQ's

11.   How much time per day should I spend blogging?
You can spend as little or as much time as your schedule allows. But remember, the more well-structured, relevant and interesting blog posts that you write, the faster you will start seeing results in the search engines. I recommend spending 5-6 "off-peak" hours a week and posting 2-3 blog posts a week on your blog.

12.   How long is a typical post?
A blog post is as long or as short as you want it to be. However, 1-3 paragraphs is a good target length. The Fast Track Blog Coaching courses will go over how to put together a great post, and will include information on HOW to find the perfect length for you and your blog.

13.   Can we delegate blogging?
If you have someone that you trust to write competent and valuable information for your blog, then yes. However, part of the success of blogging comes from the personality behind the blog, which for the most part, should be yours.

14.   Can other people, besides me, write on my blog?
Definitely. You can add to the content of your blog by having "Guest Bloggers" write articles on your blog. Guest bloggers can be anyone that you trust to write quality and relevant information, and can include, lenders, appraisers, inspectors, bankers and other real estate professionals that may specialize in areas that you do not.

15.   Which platform should we use?
Your eAgentC website has a Top Producer blog ready to be attached to it. It is FREE, based off the WordPress platform and easy to use.

16.   Do I have to have a Top Producer account to use the Top Producer Blog?
No. This is a free blog that Keller Williams has made accessible to KW agents whether you have a TP account or not.

17.   Should we have multiple blogs?
No. Unless you decide that you LOVE blogging, one blog should be sufficient. Should you decide that you LOVE blogging, you could eventually make separate blogs for the different niche markets that you work.

18.   Do we need a separate domain name for our blogs?
Yes. Initially, your eAgentC blog will have a domain name that includes "featuredblog" in the URL. You can purchase any domain name that you want and point it (or redirect it fir a small fee) to your blog. This way when anyone types in your newly purchased domain name, it will take them directly to your blog.

19.   How do your check your traffic?
There is a "statistics" tab in your blog that will give you information on your traffic. Additionally, you can set up "Google Analytics" to track your traffic as well.

20.   Are the eAgentC blogs search engine friendly?
Absolutely. In fact, we have seen some of these blogs get search engine placement in less than 3 months.

21.   How do we find images for our blog?
Most images on the internet are copy written and you cannot use them in your blog without getting in trouble and being assessed fines. We will go over different resources for great, usable photos in the Blog Fast Track Sessions. However, for now, the best resources for images that you can use are:

·         Photos that you take yourself

·         Microsoft Clip Art

Royalty free stock photography that is licenses for online usage

22.   Should we add video?
If you want to add video then definitely, but it is not a requirement. If you DO add video, make sure you have plenty of written content as well. Even though visitors will love the video, the search engines do not acknowledge video as content.

23.   What is the reason for BOLD text in a blog?
How you format your blog posts is extremely important. BOLD text does have a significance, but you have to use it correctly. We will explain this (along with other formatting tools) in great detail in the Fast Track Blog Coaching.

24.   Can you use information on your website on your blog?
Absolutely. I would take each thing that you already have on your website and write a post about it… expand it out.

25.   Should I post the same blog in different places?
 There are exceptions, but for the most part, no. Your content should stay on your blog. If you have another place that you want to share a blog post that you wrote, then share SOME of it and include a link back to your blog so that readers can "continue reading" or "view the full post".

26.   I have a blog on Active Rain. Should I get an additional blog as well?
Yes. Blogging on Active Rain is a great place to start and get your feet wet with blogging. But remember, you are blogging amongst all your competition and it is very easy for a visitor to wander away from your posts to your competitions' posts.

27.   Does Active Rain have a higher ranking than a personal blog?
Everything is always changing, but Active Rain will rank higher than a new blog, but in most cases, if you are dedicated to your blog, you will eventually outrank Active Rain.

28.   What about the new Active Rain "Outside" Blogs?
Those are nice, but there is a severe limitation as to how you can customize it to serve your business needs (you cannot add separate pages, nor set it up to be a great lead capture machine like you could your own blog) and there are still links that you CANNOT remove that lead to your competition.

When you partner up with a MAPS Blog coach, you will learn the answers to your questions and learn how blogging can and will positively enhance the profitability of your current business.

A Real Estate Blog is a form of Internet Lead Generation.

• Blogs can rank higher and quicker on search engines than most websites.
• 40% of all search engine searches are for local businesses and services.
• 92% of all local searches will eventually convert into a sale.
• Roughly 10 billion search queries made per day. ( searchingsolutions.com )

Blogging gives you, the Real Estate agent, the opportunity to:

• Establish your position as the “expert” in ANY area, by writing about what you already know.
• Push your blog/website to the top pages of search engines for multiple terms.
• Become THE referral source for your area.
• Increase your income through the blogging and internet lead generation.

The top four objections that people have, and some answers include:

• “I don’t have time to blog” – Blogging takes up less time than you would think.
• “I am not a great writer.” – Effective story-telling is just one facet of great blogging.
• “I don’t know what to write about.” - Use your blog to answer frequently asked questions, share market reports, create neighborhood profiles, offer Buyer/Seller Tips and share community information
• “Blogging is too expensive.” – Keller Williams offers a FREE blog attached to your KW website. Learn how to set it up at mykwblog.wordpress.com/e/

If you are ready to take your internet business to the next level, sign up today!

Two One-Hour Group Sessions a month for six months for just $99/month
Start Date:  Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 2pm CDT
More Information Here

Want More Internet Leads?

Want to Convert the Leads You Get?

Can't Go to Tech Masterminds?

Now, MAPS is Bringing Tech Masterminds to You!

Be a part of KW history and join the first Masterminds to be broadcast via webinar! Learn how to generate and cultivate Internet leads from Keller Williams Chief Technology Officer Dave Therrien and Director of IT Cary Sylvester. Through this webinar, you will be able to hear the general session, ask questions and even see the PowerPoint presentation in real time! 

Limited Space, Register Now!

Bargain Price: $29.95

Registration Closes: Sunday, April 27 at 12 noon CST

Webinar Time: Monday, April 28 at 1:30 p.m. CST (Central Standard Time)

until approximately 3:30 p.m. CST  

Upon registration you will receive an email with the webinar address and the phone number to call in. Your registration will be approved the day before the webinar and you will be sent an approval notice via email 24 hours before. If you don’t receive the notice by the morning of April 28 please email fasttrack@kw.com.

No more reasons to miss Masterminds!

Don't lose the opportunity to be a part of history!

Register Today!

Join us for Masterminds 2008.

Learn more at www.mapsinstitute.com.

For more information on Masterminds, email maps@kw.com or visit www.mapsinstitute.com.

http://www.google.com/local/add/

This adds you to the Google Local Business Directory. You can create a link back to your site.

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/local/business.php

Local Basic Listing (Free)
Local Enhanced Listings ($9.95/month)
Local Featured Listing ($25/month)

This is an example of the local business directory:

http://local.yahoo.com/results?p=real+estate&fr=&sortby=&csz=Austin%2C+TX&flnstr=2&flsstr=0&ppg_nm=1&pg_nm=2&xargs=

Featured listings are in the blue box at the top, regular listings appear in the list. Recommend starting with the free listing – have some past clients give you a review, it helps your placement on the site when people search for highest reviewed.

I don’t think the $9.95/month buys you much, the premium placement of local featured listing would generate more traffic due to the placement on the page.

http://www.trulia.com/advertisers/agents/

Featured listing Program (Priced at 10 listings for $50/month) and
City Banner program ($250/month)

http://www.zillow.com/learnmore/WhyUseZillowAgents.htm

1 cent per impression.

Yahoo Directory Submission Program (National Listing)

$299/annually

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/dirsb/dirsb_pr.php

Google Adwords

http://adwords.google.com

Enjoy!

Jack

Condos, Townhomes, and Lofts in 78701 (Downtown Austin)

Sign up for the Free Internet Lead Generation Business Builder class tomorrow - 2PM Central, 3PM Eastern, 1 PM Mountain, 12 noon Pacific Time:

Click here to sign up!

Step one: From the editor, enter the link text that you want to use for the website link.

Step two: Highlight the text that you will turn into a link

Step three: Click the Insert/Edit link button

Step four: Enter the URL address for where the link should go

Step five: Save the page

Step one:  Write your link and the anchor text for the link

http://www.austinvillehomes.com/

<a href="http://www.austinvillehomes.com/">For all your Austinville real estate and property needs, contact the Austinville Homes Team!</a>

Now you can take 7i with you on your BlackBerry® handset and take advantage of sales opportunities everywhere you go. Easy-to-use and loaded with real estate specific features, new Top Producer for Blackberry lets you stay connected, maximize your productivity, and give your clients and prospects what they want - when they want it.

With Top Producer for Blackberry you can:

A software company's perfect customer base looks like:

1. people come in and out of the industry frequently - lots of newbies
2. are other sales people
3. Are likely to buy a product (or subscription) and not implement it - lowers support costs, hosting costs if a hosted web application
   
4. Can *always* do some more marketing

Two different types of technology and productivity tools in real estate

1. Lead generation - more leads
2. Transactional Efficiency - reduces your costs

Steps For Technology Adoption

1. Consider business goals - efficiency?  leads?  What business activities are you trying to impact and how? Write down your criteria.
2. What are other people doing?  (benchmark practices)
3. Comparison shop (benchmark products) (have to have vs. nice to have features)
   
4. Consider real costs - branding/customization, content development, product price, subscription costs, how much training do you or your staff really need, how much is support if you need it, can you get support locally, your time involvement?
   
5. Consider your ROI
6. Compare and select - create a spreadsheet, include pros, cons, costs, and have-to-have and nice-to-have features
7. adopt, train, track - hold dollars accountable for results

Essential marketing business practices for the real estate agent today (supported by technology)

1. Client IDX - Clients able to do their own searching, save favorite properties, have searches emailed to them  - lead generation/efficiency
2. Mass communication with past clients - email, direct mail, both - 12 direct/33 touch
   
3. Prospecting and Follow up plans for different audiences - 8x8
   
4. Automated Lead capture - web, IVR, stealth site, email, etc

1) The KW Culture responds to Hurricane Katrina

2) KWU MAPS rolls out new programs under new leadership

3) Camp 443 Succcess Stories

4) Eagentc rolls out significant improvements in 2005 and some very cool new tools

This goal setting tool is the foundation for action focused planning for real estate agents.  The new tool makes it easy to track annual, monthly, and weekly "big rocks" and easily print out your 411.  This tool has been used internally by KWRI, and is now available to the field.

The agent website user interface got a new look and also significant improvements in its functionality.  It will now be much easier to edit your website, create custom pages, and implement website best practices.  In addition to the new interface, helpful tips are now included in the adminstrative screens so that you can quickly get help with anything you are trying to accomplish.

A new tour of KW technology for agents was released.  Eagentc staffers handed out CDs that run the tech tour and these are sure to be great recruiting pieces to send to candidates.  The tour is not yet available on line but I would expect it to be available shortly. The new tour features interactive video and a robot tour guide to take you through all of the KW
agent technology.

5) Susan Scott keynote on "Fierce Conversations"